Happy Monday, all!
It seems like Mother Nature teased us this week with a little bit of her Spring-like weather with some sunshine and 60 degree temperatures.
Wasn’t it absolutely glorious?!
I hope that you were able to get out and enjoy some of the fresh air and sunshine. It is so good for the soul, especially now.
Anyhoo, I apologize if I threw you off last week with no post. It just seemed counter-productive for me to write something since it was the start of Month 3 with my Miles 4 Smiles campaign.
Which…side note…as of right now as I’m writing this–which happens to be 9:23pm on March 2nd–is at $3,281 raised and 225.1 miles clocked!
That is cray, cray, craziness!
Well, let’s get down to business with this week’s post.
Do you have your favorite beverage beside you? Your fuzzy friend? Your cozy blanket?
Great, because here we go!
It’s hard to believe that we are coming up on a year of living in this pandemic.
I still remember the first day when we were told that we would be working from home for two weeks.
And, shortly after that, that weeks turned to another two weeks, and then a month, another month…and so on and so on. You get the drift.
And here we are…almost at the year mark and both my full time and part time jobs have turned into full remote work.
That means I work for approximately 55 hours within the same 4 walls for six days (sometimes seven) days a week!
Boy, do I miss the office setting.
I’m not going to lie, there are sometimes where I decide to change up my scenery and choose to work from a friends’ house, my parents’ house, or even my church just to get a little different change of pace to stay sane.
So, what am I trying to say? Where am I going with this?
Stay with me.
I don’t know about you, but there are times when I look at the state of the world and become really sad.
It just seems like everyone is so divided on every single subject no matter what it might be.
Some days, as I live out my life, I get an energy from certain people that seem to have no concept of what is happening in the world around us, but yet still continue to try and make things difficult for others.
And while we are told to not take things personally and to just take deep breaths, sometimes, that just doesn’t work or seem like enough.
There are days that I have experienced recently where all I’ve wanted to do is scream at the top of my lungs and throw the container of pens and pencils on my desk across the room.
There are days where I have just wanted to give up, shut down the computer, and lock myself in my room much like the Evil Stepmother does to Cinderella.
Did you like that Disney reference?
Thought I would slide that in to lighten the mood a bit.
Anyone else have feelings like I just described?
Anyhoo, I’ve been reading a book the past couple of weeks by Bob Goff called Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People.
It has been a very easy read that I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with in the evening before bed.
The most recent chapter I just finished was called “The Bucket” and it provided some simple, but meaningful perspective for me that came at a good time as I was feeling the moments of screaming, exhaustion, and shutting down.
In the chapter, Goff shares this simple lesson:
We will become in our lives what we put in our buckets.
Brilliant.
So, I started to think back to my moments where I felt like screaming and giving up.
And I paused.
And I thought.
What do I need to put in my bucket?
Capitol One draws us in with their advertisements that we see on the tube and hear on the radio by asking the million dollar question of, “What’s in your wallet?”
Well, today I ask you the million dollar question of…
“What’s in your bucket?”
I’ve thought a lot about this question over the past couple of days…
…And I mean a lot.
It has flooded my mind during shower time, run time, sleepy time…basically all times.
But I landed on these three things I decided I must be placing in my bucket:
- Kindness
- Love
- Patience
When I get saddened by things I see in the world and the darkness that seems to flood our lives on the daily, I must remember to fill my bucket up with kindness. Kindness that must be displayed and shown to everyone in the world regardless of where they are at in life, what their struggles are, ethnic background, social status, skin color, sexual orientation, etc.
When I get bogged down by the constant pictures I see of couples, engagements, weddings, etc, I must remember to fill my bucket up with love. Love for myself in the beauty of who I am and what I stand for and love for everyone around me in the world regardless of where they are at in life, what their struggles are, ethnic background, social status, skin color, sexual orientation, etc.
When I get bogged down by the need of wanting instant gratification because of being a millennial and the want to have answers now and not later, I must remember to fill my bucket up with patience. Patience that there is a time and place for everyone in our life and that everything happens for a reason. Patience that it will all be okay in the end and that we can’t control everything.
Capitol One has gotten us day after day, month after month, and year after to answer the question of, “What’s in your wallet?”
Well, folks.
It’s time for you to answer a new question.
“What’s in your bucket?”
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 